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I’ve been writing this blog since 2009, but there still seem to be plenty of interesting topics to mull over. You can subscribe (it’s free) to follow the blog by email – each new post will pop into your inbox.
Today is György Sebök’s birthday
Today, 2 November, is the birthday of the late and much-missed Hungarian pianist György Sebök (1922-99). Sebök was a distinguished pianist, but to his students and those who listened to his classes he will always be remembered primarily as a superlative teacher. I...
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A nice memory of Prunella Scales
News of the death of the wonderful comic actress Prunella Scales at the age of 93 has reminded me of a little anecdote in my first book, Beyond the Notes, in the section about touring Japan with the Florestan Trio in 2000. Twenty-five years ago! For context, I should...
‘We went there to learn, not to shew off’
I've been reading Volume 2 of the Memoirs of a Highland Lady, the fascinating memoirs of Elizabeth Grant of Rothiemurchus who kept this particular diary between 1814-30. In it there's a good example of the social attitude which made it so hard for young women to...
BBC Music Magazine review
I'm very happy to hear that my new book 'Sleeping in Temples' is the Books Choice in the Christmas 2014 issue of BBC Music. 'Rare insight. Susan Tomes illuminates at the piano and on the page.' 'Susan Tomes compares her first encounter with chamber music as akin to...
Different degrees of preparation
The current series of 'Masterchef Professionals' has provoked quite a lot of interaction between musicians (mostly on Twitter) commenting on how unprepared the competitors seem to be for the cookery challenges which await them. Time after time, in the 'technical...
Classical Music review of ‘Sleeping in Temples’
The first review of my new book has appeared. I’m delighted to find it is ‘Editor’s Choice’ in this month’s Classical Music with a five-star review: ‘Those bewitched by Tomes’s three previous books (two published by the clearly perceptive Boydell Press) can prepare...
Thinking back or planning ahead?
An interesting discussion the other night with a bunch of student pianists. We were discussing the kind of situation where you have to perform several different pieces in a row without being able to leave the stage. This is sometimes the case in, for example, a...
My new book is out
My new book is officially out today from The Boydell Press. In fact, in the mysterious way of modern publishing, it seems to have been available from various outlets for a few weeks now, as I discovered with surprise when I got a letter about it from a reader, weeks...
A keyboard rolling like the sea
I have a new pair of glasses with varifocal lenses. How can glasses have become so expensive! Every few years, one seems to need new glasses, and economising on the choice of frame is neither here nor there when the lenses themselves cost hundreds of pounds. Since my...
Moon on the water
I have had a lovely week at the International Musicians' Seminar in Prussia Cove. Last September, there were swirling mists and rain. I remember I spent a lot of time taking atmospheric photos of old gates and rocks looming out of the sea mist. This year, by contrast,...
Another dose of Prussia Cove
I'm looking forward to another visit to the International Musicians' Seminar 'Open Chamber Music' at Prussia Cove in Cornwall, where a large group of musicians (mostly string players, but also some pianists) gathers to play chamber music. At this time of year I always...
Trifonov at Edinburgh Festival
This morning I went to hear Daniil Trifonov's piano recital at the Edinburgh Festival. Normally wild horses wouldn't drag me to hear all twelve of Liszt's 'Transcendental Studies'. With very few exceptions, I've always found them musically rather dull, and can never...
‘Lost arts’
This morning I listened to a longish discussion on Radio 4's 'Today' programme about the technique of singing with a microphone. Many singers today use headsets rather than microphones when they perform, because headsets allow them to have their hands free. To my...
Music’s role in combating depression
The other day the Guardian published a front-page article about the startling number of people of all ages who suffer from mental health problems, such as depression, without receiving any treatment. It was suggested that the cost of drug treatments and cognitive...
Playing two instruments at once
I wrote recently about the piano duets played every night at piano camp in France - not just two people at one piano, but sometimes three people at one piano, or four people at two pianos. Famous works of music arranged for multiple hands, with one or two piano...